Brian Braddock’s life was planned for him from before he was even born; for him there is no coincidence. Merlyn sent James Braddock to Earth-616 to sire a champion who could defend the multiverse against the myriad threats facing it; the studious Brian was his third child. He grew up a solitary child, save for his siblings, losing himself in books. Home on a break from studying physics at Thames University, Brian was out dating Valerie Campbell when his parents were killed, apparently in a lab accident but actually by the computer Mastermind; Brian was overwhelmed with guilt that he had not being present to prevent their deaths. He took a summer job at Darkmoor Nuclear Complex, a secret research facility near the Scottish border, soon after his parents died, trying to keep himself busy, but the facility was attacked by the forces of Joshua Stragg, the Reaver, who sought to kidnap the scientists within and make it look like they had all died in a reactor accident. At the urging of his mentor Dr. Travis, Brian fled on a motor bike to get help. Forced over a cliff by his pursuers, he dragged his injured body from the burning wreckage to witness a vision of Merlyn and the Lady of the Northern Skies (Roma) above a ring of standing stones; told to choose between the Sword of Might and Amulet of Right, Brian picked the latter, feeling the sword was a symbol of death and that he was no warrior. He was struck by mystical energy and transformed into the costumed hero Captain Britain; the new hero swiftly gained the upper hand against the Reaver, who, after grabbing the sword, had been transformed by the Nethergods, Merlin’s foes.